- Born
- Birth nameLauren Michael Holly
- Height1.65 m
- Born in Bristol, Pennsylvania, the daughter of two college professors, Lauren Michael Holly grew up in the upstate New York town of Geneva. Her childhood was split between experiences that contrasted. She was privy to the shelter of growing up in a rural town and also exposed due to the erudite sophistication of her parents' academic careers. She spent time traveling in Europe and lived for a year in London, where she studied languages and flute at the famed Sarah Siddons School. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College in Westchester County, New York, Holly credits her love of acting to her great-grandmother who bred a family tradition of "treading the boards" on the musical theatre stages of Liverpool and London.
Holly's breakthrough motion picture performance came in the New Line Cinema's box-office smash,Dumb and Dumber (1994),withJim CarreyandJeff Daniels.Lauren captured the hearts of audiences, as "Mary Swanson", the woman who drove Jim Carrey to follow her across the country to pledge his love. Next, she received glowing reviews for her performance in theEdward Burnsdrama,No Looking Back (1998),as a woman whose life in a small seaside community is turned upside down by the reappearance of her ex-boyfriend. Other film credits include Oliver Stone's "Any Given Sunday", Sydney Pollack's "Sabrina", the action-drama "Turbulence", the Miramax ensemble "Beautiful Girls", "Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story", "A Smile Like Yours", "The Adventures of Ford Fairlane", "Down Periscope", "Entropy" and "The Last Producer". On television, Holly recently starred in two films for Hallmark. She also boasts three seasons as Director Jenny Shepard in NCIS, opposite Mark Harmon. Holly was seen in the TNT movie "King of Texas", an adaptation of Shakespeare's "King Lear", playing opposite Oscar winner Marcia Gay Harden and renowned actor Patrick Stewart, and in the NBC miniseries "Jackie, Ethel, Joan: Women of Camelot". She also starred on David E. Kelley's drama, "Chicago Hope", marking her second project with Kelley, following their successful collaboration on the critically acclaimed, Emmy Award-winning series, "Picket Fences".
Holly has worked on numerous Independent films, including the political thriller "Fatwa", in which she not only acted but also served as a producer, the Peter Schwaba penned and directed comedy "Godfather of Green Bay", "The Chumscrubber", "Pleasure Drivers", a Lifetime movie "Caught in the Act" (which she also produced), and "Chasing 3000". Most recently, she starred in "You're So Cupid". Additional projects contributing to the broad and diverse body of motion picture work Lauren has compiled include the drama "Colored Eggs" with Academy Award winner Faye Dunaway, the comedy "Raising Flagg" playing opposite Academy Award winner Alan Arkin, the Darrell Roodt directed HBO thriller, "Pavement" (co-starring Robert Patrick), and "What Women Want" (starring Academy Award winners Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt). She had a prime role in Disney's Academy Award-winning animated motion picture "Spirited Away" as the voice of Chihiro's Mother. Thrice divorced, as of 2014, Holly makes her home in Toronto, Canada, with her sons: Alexander, George, and Henry.- IMDb Mini Biography By: laurenholly.com
- SpousesFrancis Greco(March 10, 2001 - 2014) (divorced, 3 children)Jim Carrey(September 23, 1996 - July 29, 1997) (divorced)Danny Quinn(1991 - 1993) (divorced)
- ChildrenAlexander Joseph GrecoGeorge GrecoHenry Greco
- ParentsMichael Ann Holly
- RelativesNick Holly(Sibling)Alexander Innes Holly(Sibling)
- Became a Canadian citizen in 2008, and now holds dual US/Canadian citizenship.
- She turned down the role played byCourteney Coxin Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994),but later co-starred with Jim CarreyinDumb and Dumber (1994).
- Her mother, Michael Ann, taught art history at the University of Rochester and chaired the department.
- Her father,Grant Holly,taught English Literature at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York.
- Her maid of honor at her March 2001 wedding to Francis Greco was actressAmanda Peet
- [on her worst audition]Sister Act (1992).I get this call: they're having trouble finding the young, mousy nun, so they want me to go in. "But isn't this singing?" I asked. "Yes, they know you don't sing". I go in, read the scene, it goes well and the director says to me, "Will you sing a song for us?" I said, "Sing? I don't sing". "No, no, no, Lauren, it doesn't matter that you don't sing. We just want to see if you look like you can sing - do the body movements and the facial expressions and then we'll dub it", So, I closed my eyes and belled out "Happy Birthday" as loud as I could and I tried to put all the feeling and body movement into it. When I finished, I opened my eyes. I've never seen such looks of horror as there were on their faces. Then, I heard someone in the back of this group say, "Wow, that girl's got balls". It was horrible.
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